BAFA has made a number of appointments to further support our flourishing National Programme.
New National Programme General Manager and Central Support Team
Arran Harrison has been appointed as the new National Programme General Manager. Arran has been transitioning from his previous volunteer position as Strategic Lead for Women’s Football over recent months and is now fully in role.
The pri
mary aim of the National Programme General Manager is to enable the smooth operational running and sustainability of all GB National Programme activities. This includes managing resources and budget to ensure the effective delivery of activity. All National Programme coaching and support staff volunteers now report to Arran.
Arran is delighted to take on the challenge of the General Manager role: “As we look to grow our sport, I’m a firm believer that the success of the National Programme has a major part to play by leading the way on the international stage. With the recent changes in the IFAF competition structure from a kitted perspective, it is important that we build a National Programme operations structure that will support the players, coaches, and team managers to give them every opportunity for success. It’s a cliché but the hard works starts now.”
Arran has been working hard in the background to recruit a central support team that will facilitate the needs of all facets of the National Programme and help bring consistency and we are pleased to welcome the following people to support Arran:
Kerry Fothergill – GB Events Coordinator
Nabil Ould-Dada – GB Operations Support Officer
Rich Osment – GB Admin Support Officer
Beverley, Jakki and Ellie
New National Programme Co-Lead Therapists
We are also pleased to announce the appointment of new National Programme Co-Lead Therapists Jakki Duncan and Eleanor Travis. Jakki and Ellie will take over the role of National Programme Lead Therapist from Beverley Analuwa and will oversee the GB therapy team, working closely with all GB players and coaching staff. Jakki and Ellie will be looking to expand the therapy team and will be looking to recruit additional therapists soon.
Jakki started playing American Football in 2018 after being recruited into the GB Therapy team. She competed in her first tournament last summer and was part of the silver medal winning team at the IFAF World Championships. More recently she was appointed as team captain for the GB game against Germany in May. Jakki is a senior physiotherapist in the NHS with a Sports Rehabilitation background, as well as lead physiotherapist for BUCS Super Rugby champions Durham RUFC.
Jakki has predominantly worked with the Men and Women’s contact GB teams as a senior therapist overseeing the team’s medical staff.
Ellie is a Graduate Sports Therapist and has worked with GB since 2017. Her blog, Gridiron Strong, is aimed at supporting footballers on and off the field in injury care and strength and conditioning. Ellie is also an academic, with her current research investigating the prevalence, surveillance and management of injuries among American football in the UK. Previous research has investigated concussion reporting within British American Football, and a national survey exploring the medical provisions and facilities within BUCS clubs.
Ellie is a member of BAFA’s Sport Science and Medicine Committee and has been part of two BUCS National Championship winning teams whilst working in a coaching and sports therapy capacity.
More recently, Ellie was therapy lead for the gold medal winning Women’s flag team at the IFAF European Championships this month.
